Improvement in cartridge-loading machines



4 Sheets-.SheetI 2' M.-V. B. vI-I/ILL.Y Cartridge-Loading Machine.

May14, 1878,l

Sheets-Sheet 3. M. V. B. HILL.

Cartridge-Loading Machine.

` No. 203,731. Patened IVlay14, 1878.

l illiiilul I )Vif/M9808:

' {Sheets-Sheet 4, M. VQB. HILL.' Cartridge-Loading Machine.

`Pa-'un'evd May 14, 1878.

NITED .TATEs PATENT OFFICE- MARTIN v. E. HILL, CF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, AssIeNon To WIN- CHEsTEu REPEATING ARMs COMPANY, CF'sAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARTRIDGE-LOADING MACHINES.

Specification forming part' of Letters Patent No. 203,781, dated 187,8; application :filed March 19, 187B.

To all whom' it may concern: Be it known that I, MARTIN VAN 4BUEEN HrLL, of New Haven, in the county oi` 1l \Tew` Haven and Stateof Connecticut, have invented certain Improvements in Cartridgev Loading Machines, ofA which the following is' a speciii:l

cation My invention relates to cartridgelloadingl machines; and it consists in so; constructing and arranging the mechanical devices composing the machine as yto feed the shells/to a' race or guideway, along which. they are/chen placesthe balls in the` shells; and, iinally, under a die, that crimps the shells upon the balls,

all as hereinafter more fully described.`

' Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine constructed to `operate on the plan. above stated. Fig. 2 isa top-plan view. Fig. 3 is an under-face view ofthe upper bed-plate with some of the moving parts attached. Fig. iis a perspective view of the lower bed-plate,

showing the main shaft with its cam-wheels and other devices in their relative positions. Fig.. 5 1s a transverse vertical section `-on the line .fr w of Fig. 2, showing the manner of feeding the bullet to and. placingit in the shell; Fig. 8, an enlarged view of a portion detached. Figs. 6 and `7 are views in' elevation of the testingand automatic stop devices.

In constructing my lmproved machineI provide a frame, which maybe of Vanylsuitable` form, though, for con venience 'in arranging the *mechanisme I have shown' it constructed of two horizontal bed-'plates,- A and B,placed one above the other, connected by suitable posts or standards, and the whole supported on legs 'ofsuch a length as'. to brin'g the upper plate A, ou which the work is performed, at al suit .'ableheight for the attendant., Between the two bed-plates'A and B is mounted the main operatingshaft C, on which are securedthe four cam-wheels, I,-H, E, and F, as shown .in Fig. 4, this shaft beingdriven from a countershaft carrying a fast and loose pulley, D andv 'and-down motion is4 imparted to it for placing and crimping the bullets iu the shells, as hereinafter explained. At the point where-the bevel-gear d is secured to the main shaft I locate a' vertical shaft, T2, which projects downward through the lower plate B, as shown inV Fig. 4, carrying on its upper end a bevel-gear wheel, f, engaging with bevel-wheel d, and below the plate B another bevelwheel, (not shown-,) which engages with a wheel, T1, on a horizontal shaft, T3, which, by means of a wormgear on its opposite end, imparts motion to a 7 vertical shaft, T4, (shown in Fig. 5,) and'which carries at its upper end, above the plate A, a

perforated disk, Q, in which the bullets are placed, and the location of which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, there being under the plate Q a stationary plate, Q', yon which the bullets rest as theyjar'e moved around until they are brought over the shell, vwhere there is aV hole through .the lstntif'inary plate, through which the bullets are successively forced down into the open mouth of-the shell below by means of a plunger, n, secured to and operated by the verticallymoving rod K, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

` Upon -the lower end oi' this vertical shaft T2, asshown in Fig. 1, there is a pulley, from which extends a cord or band to a vertical shaft, R4, which carries at its upper end a rotating smooth disk, 1t, on which thc empty shells are placed'to be carried to the feed-rack U, hereinafter described. 'Y

Above' the plate A are arrau ged devices which automatically move and load the shells. The first operation is charging the shell with the proper quantity of powder. The powder is fed down through atube, a', Fig. 1, through a strong .metal shield, S2, to a reciproca-ting slide, lr, Fig. 2, which has a hole that receives the proper quantity for the charge. This slide -s operated' by an arm, a, Figs. 1 and 2, this delivered to each shell.

isY held by a springagainst the face of the cam-wheel E, Figs. l and 4, by which the slide is made to move toand fro at the proper intervals. As it moves from under the tube a' it cuts oli the iiow of the powder through the tube, and as .it arrives over a hole, vo, Fig. 2, the powder 'in 'the slide falls through said hole into the shell below.

By examining Fig. 4 itwill be seen that the cam-face of the wheel E is provided with a series of notches, f', which operate upon the slide r to give it a vibrating or shaking motion, which is for the purpose of agitating the powder in the slide, and thereby preventing it from clogging therein, and so as to cause the powder to always settle to the same 'degree, and thus insure uniformity of quantity As the shells are fed along from the charger, by means-which will be hereinafter described, they are brought under the automatic testing and stop devices, (shown enlarged. in Figs. 6 andy 7,) they being views from opposite sides,respectively. These 'are secured to .a vertically-moving rod, B?, which, as shown in Fig. 4', is operated by a rigid yoke or arm, B3, which engages in and is operated by an eccentric or cam groove in the side of wheel H, the groove, of course, being of such form or eccentricity as to move the rod B2 at the proper times. Upon the rod B2, at its upper end, is secured an arm, B4, having a tubular sleeve, I', at its outer end, and in which isplaced a plunger, P', having a spiral spring, H', at its upper portion, arranged to press the plunger down. A pin, t, passes through this plunger P', and projects through a slot at each side in the sleeve I', as

shown in'Fig. 7. Upon the side of the arm B4, as seen in Fig. 6, is pivoted a lever, Y, which has a slot in its outer end to iit over the pin t, and is providedwlth set-screws s s, as shown,

'by which it can be `adjusted in relation to the pin t. 'At its opposite ,end this lever is provided with a V-shaped slot, in which rests the end of a pin, o', which projects laterally from a rod,o, mounted` loosely in the arm B4, and which extends down alongside of rod B2, and has its lower end working through a hole in the plate A. As shown in Fig. 6, this rod o has its face made flat for a portion of its length, and against this fiat face rests the end of a spring-lever catch, m., which, as shown in Fig. l, is pivoted to the bed-plate A in such a position that its opposite end will engage with and hold in position the belt-shifter S, which has a spring `arranged to bear against it, so that when released it will fly outwardand shift the belt from the fast pulley D to the loose pulley D'.

On the opposite side of the arm B4, as shown y in Fig. 7,; is pivoted another lever, B1, 'the in- -ner end of which is brought under the pin ton that side of the plunger l", and is held against it by a spring, Il?. Under the outer end of this lever R1 is set a stud, with a set-screw in te upper end, the parte being so arranged that as the shaft B2 descends the lever R1 will strike upon the set-screw, which will overcome the spring hz and force the opposite e'nd of the lever away from the pin t, which will permit the spiral spring H' to force the plunger down. The result of this construction and arrangement of devices is that, if there be too much powder in the shelhas indicated in Fig. 6, the plunger P' will strike thereon, and be held while the rod B2. continues to descend, and this stoppage of the plunger will tilt the lever Y, the inclined slot in the opposite end of which, acting on the pin o', will partially rotate the lat-faced rod o, causing the latter, as it turns,.to force back. the spring-catch m, thereby releasing thexbelt-shifter S, which at once shifts the belt to the loose pulley D'and .stops the machine. a If, on the other hand,

there be too little powder in thc shell, as indicated in Fig. 7, then, as the plunger descends, the outer end of lever B1 strikes upon the stud R2, throwing its opposite end away from the pin t, when the pressure of the spring H' Iat the upper end of the plunger forces'thelatter down, and by means o' pin t moves the lever Y in the opposite directionfrom what it was'before moved, thereby turning the flatfaced rod o in the reverse direction by means of its pin o', working on the other incline of the V-slot, and thus operates the spring-catch m and shifts the belt, as before.

It will be understood that thetwo springs H' and h2 and the set-screws s swill be so adjusted that, when the plunger is arranged to just reach the top of the powder when the shell has the proper quantity, the pin o' will stand, as shown in Fig. l, at the apex of the V-shaped slot in the lever Y, in which case the flat face of the rod o will be in line with the face of the spring-catch m, and, of course, will not operate upon it at all.

If the shell contains the proper quantity of powder, it will then pass along and be brought under the conical plunger B6, which, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is carried byanother rigid adjustable arm, B5, secured to the same vertical rod B2. This conical plunger B6, as it enters the mouth of the shell, will restore it to a perfectly circular form in case it has become bruised or misshapen from any` cause, and thus lit it to receive the bullet; and, if desired, this plunger B6 can be so adjusted that it will enlarge slightly the mouth of the shell by flaring it outward all around, thus insuring the more ready entrance of the bullet, and preventing the latter from catching or scraping on the edge of the mouth of the shell, as will sometimes occur in the ordinary loadingmachines.

As the shell is moved along it is next brought under the bullet-carrying dial Q, Fig. 5, when the rod K descends, carrying with it the punch n, whichA forces the bullet throughthe hole in plate Q' and down into the mouth of the shell, as shown in Fig. 5.

`.ers it is moved still farther along, the shell,

-. its edge.

wana@ 'bullet in it, is brought under the tu.

v bular plunger or crimping-die r2, which is secured by an arm to the same rod K, and therefore moves at the same time with the punch fn.. This crimping-die or plunger 'r2 is made hollow andslightly conical, so that as it-is i forced down upon the upper vend of the shell it-compresses the same tightly upon thebullet, thus securing thetwo iirmly together. The cartridgeas it is moved along, is held by its iiange in a grooved guide-plate, V, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and is thus held down while the rod K rises, Vand thus draws the crimping-die oft' of it.

These complete all the operations of loading the cartridge.

I now proceed to describe the manner in f which theshells are fed along in a right line to bring them under the various devices which operate upon them, as above described.

along-therein, it h aving` on each side inwardlyprojecting lips," which engage over the flanges of the shells, and prevent them from falling "over Q1" getting misplaced. v

As shown in Figs. l and 2, I locate at the end of the machin e, on a level with this grooved wayV, a smooth rotating plate, Lit, or friction- `shells are placed, heads down. Around the outer edge of thisdial is a raised iin-nge, and inside of this is arranged another iianged plate or guide, T, thus formi ing a passage-way, into which the shells are :arried by the dial, so as to cause themA to stand in a single 4row between the -outer and inner` guides, as shown in Figs. l and 2, this friction-dial,being a well-known device, except as'to the additional features to behereinafter described, its object being to deliver the shells in proper order to the device which e feeds or carries them along in a rightflin'e uniV der the various tools,as above described.

This feeding device is made to operate on the principle ofthe four-motion feed used on sewing-machines, and is constructed as follows: As shown in Fig.- 7 ,there is a plate,U, arranged parallel with the grooved way V, of a suitable height for the shells to rest against On the opposite side, and parallel with this, is arranged a plate,'U, which has at its upperand'lower edges inwardly-projecting flanges, which have semicircular notches cnt in them ot'suitable'sizeto iit the shells,

as shown in. Figs. l and 5'. This latter plate or, feed-rack/U is mounted so as to ,slide end- D wise in a setof blocks, in, which blocks are thcinse'lves arranged to slide in suitable guides in a direction at right angles to the movements of the plate U. .The plate U is moved to and fro by a lever, g, Fig. 3, whichhas one eml`eonne'cted to abloek, g', secured to the under 'side of yplate A in suitable guides, this plate g being connected to the feed-plate U by bolts or screws working through aslot in the bed-plate.v The opposite end of this lever g ,has a stud, t2, which engages in a cam-groove in the wheel F, Fig. 4, the groove being so curved or shaped as to impart movement to the plate U at the proper intervals. In4 order to give this plate a to-and-fro Amotion at right angles to that already described, a shaft, C', Fig. 3, is -mounted in suitable bearings under the bed-plate A, and has an arm, b', carrying a laterally-projecting stud or pin at its outer end, which'pbears on a cam, b, Fig. 4, t o"which it is held by a spring, q2. To this shaft C' two arms, h,.are secured, Figs.' 3 and 4, which project up through slots in the bed-plate A, and are connected to the slides w, Fig. 2, on which the feed-plate U rests.

It will thus be seen that the wheel F, through the medium of lever g, moves the feed-rack U to and fro longitudinally, and that the cam b,

through the medium of the rock-shaft C', with its arms h, imparts to it a to-and-fro motion at right angles to its other movement, the result ci' which is that the feed plate or rack U is moved first backward from the guideway V, then longitudinally toward the friction-dial R, then forward toward the guideway, which is ,supposed to be filled with shells, then longitudinally away from the dial R, carrying the shells along with it in the race or guideway, and so on continuously, thus feeding the shells along one step at a time by `successive movements.

By shaping the cams and camgrooves properly 'it is obvious that the-feed may be 'so controlled and operated as to leave the shells stationary during the greater part cf the time, Ain order to give time for the several tools and devices to operate upon them, as described.

In order to prevent the shells from being fed from the dial It ,into the guideway in advanee of the movements of the feed-rackU, and to insure the rack U taking hold of them one at a time, I add the devices shown in Fig. 'land enlarged in Fig. 8. In the first place, I secure to the face of the flan ge on the guidev, plate T, onthe frictional dial, a spring, k,

which carries at its free end a. screw, l, the point of which projects through a hole in the flange, and thus serves to stop and hold the shells just back of the mouth of the guideway. An arm, c, is vsecured to the end-of thespring k, as shown, soas to project opposite the end of the feed-rack U, where it is struck by the end of a 'screw/k?, which is secured in a stud attached to the feed-rack, so that every time the feed-rack moves toward the dial R it forces back thestop or screw Il, and lets a shellpass on opposite the mouth of the guideway. l

At that end the rack U is cut asunder, as shown more' clearly7 in Fig. 8, and the outer end or section nl is pivoted to the other part, andheld up by a spring, n, its outer end., having a slotted ange working on a pin', at, as shown,the result beingthat as the'la'ck'y is 4. encarar shoved over toward the dial R thi'shinged section, which has a single notchto engage with one cartridgeis free to yield, so as to pass by a shell that may'happen'to be in the way, and thus insure its taking hold of the iirst shell of the row, and as it moves back carry the shell along `with it into the race or guideway. By these means the shells are fed along in the most perfect order, it only being necessary for the attendant to place them on the dial' It.

Thefeed rack or plateU may be secured to its bottom plate by screws, so that it can be adjusted as'desired, or so that it can be removedandj replaced byanother to fit different-sized shells', and inli'ke manner 'the guide-.-

way V may be maderemovable, so asl to be replaced by another or others to lit diierentsized shells, and 4thus adapt the machine to ill cartridges of various sizes, all the tools and devices which operate upon them being also made adjustable. A

In order to hold the shells upright and true while receiving the powder, and' also while receiving the bullet, I arrange at these points a pair of sliding jaws or clamps,M, one set of which is shown in section in Fig. 5, both sets being shown in position Vin Figs. 1 and 2.

These jaws,y at their upper ends, have their vertical inner faces made concave, so that -when brought together they will clasp the mouth or upper end of the shell firmly between them, and at the same time form atube or passage from the under side of the powdercharge and the bullet-charging plate down to the shell. As seen in Figs. 1 and`2 these jaws M are fitted to move in suitable guides, and from their under faces each has` a stud, M',

projecting down through slots in the plate A,

and engaging in inclined slots in the ends of a pivoted plate, N, on the under Vside of bedplate A, as shown Iin plan in Fig. 3 and in section in Fig.` 5. As shown in Fig. 3, these two plates N are connected by a bar or rod, P, which has a stud, Z, projecting from its face, and which engages in a cam-groove in the face of wheel I, as shown in Fig. 4, and by which means the jaws M are closed and opened at suitable intervals, they opening in time to permit a shell to enter as it is fed -to them, then closing upon and holding it until charged,'wh'en vthey again open, letting the filled shell pass on` and a fresh one enter.

In the bed-plate A, under the powder-charging device, is a hole, ne, Fig. 3, through which any stray grains of powder may'pass and be caught in a cup or small box suspended underneath, thus preventing it from being wasted or getting into the machinery.

It will, of course, be understood that the various parts will be so arranged and adjusted as' to time the movements of the several devices, and thus cause them to operate consecutively upon the shells as they are brought successively under them. l

One advantage of this over the ordinary dial-machines is that by feeding the shells along in a right line they are kept for a much longer time -under the eye ofthe operator, whereby he is better enabled to detect any defeet. Another advantage is that it aii'ords a better means for arranging the several tools or devices which operate upon the shells or cartridges, and the moving parts, all being driven from the one main shaft, are not liable to become disarranged or mistimed in relation o each other in their movements.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In combination with the friction-dial R,

i provided with guides for directing the shells, the spring-stop Z, arranged to be operated by the reciprocating feed-rack U, substantially as described'. f

y 2. The feed-rack U, in combination with op erating devices, substantially such as described, whereby there is imparted to said rack the four-motion movement for the purpose of feeding the cartridges intermittently along in a right line.

3. In combination with the feed-rack U, the supporting bar or plate U', for holding the 'shells and assisting'lto guide them in their movements, as set forth'.

'4. The hinged section n3, secured to the end of the feed-rack U, and provided with a sprlng to allow it to yield, substantially as and. for thel purpose set forth.

5. The sliding jaws'M, in combination with the pivoted plates N, provided with the cam slots or grooves, saidv plates being connected bya bar, P, operated by the cam-wheel I, substantially as described.

6,. The automatic testingand stop device, consisting of the vertically-reciprocating rod B', carrying the plunger P', with its .spring H', lever It, with its spring h1 and stop R2, the lever Y, provided with the V-shaped slot, and thcviiat-faccd rod O, with its pin o', connected to the belt-shifter S by the springcatch m or equivalent device, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

7. In a cartridge-loading machine, the reci procatin g conical punch B6, arranged in relation to the cartridge-feeding devices substantially as described, whereby it is caused to enter the mouths of the shells as they are brought under it, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination with the reciprocating crimping-dierz, the guide V, provided with the T-shapcd groove,whereb v the shells are guided and held when the crimping-die is withdrawn from the shell. as set`forth.

9.' The combination, in a cartridge-loading machine, of a stationary powder charger or hopper, a feed apparatus or device for bringing the cartridge-shells successively under the powder charger, and a plate or equivalent means for supporting the shells while being filled, said plate or supporting device being provided with au opening or hole, Qt-for thev a right line, substantially as and for the purpassage .0f the wastepowder, substantially as pose set forth.' l descbed- Y 10. A. cartridge-loading machine provided with a, race, Way, or guide, and a feeding mech- Witnesses Y I .'anism, constructed to operate substantially as f DANIEL H.' VEADER,

deseribedlwherebythe shellsl are fed along in JOSEPH J. SWEENEY,

M. V. B.. HILL. 

